


Iron heals in...Strange ways

by Mostillrights



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Arc Reactor Angst, Arc Reactor Issues, BAMF Stephen Strange, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Dom/sub, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-13 18:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mostillrights/pseuds/Mostillrights
Summary: “You really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Strange.”“I know the drill, Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist… or is that not the gig anymore.”“That was never the gig, that was always just a charade. Deep down I’m just a bad, broken sub; you might what to put a little more thought into me before you agree to anything.”“I’m not signing a contract, Tony, I’m taking you out to dinner. I figure after last night it’s the least I can do.”OrWhen Stephen saves Tony, after the Civil War and witnessed the genius drop suddenly he realizes that something isn’t right. Sure Stephen may not be the best Dom, but he knows that the fear and resistance Tony has to his body's biological needs isn't normal.Stephen instantly feels a connection to Tony in a way he has never felt to another Sub, but Tony’s past may cause him to drive the doctor away.-Also, lord knows I can’t write a cannon timeline compliant story, so we’re going to assume the events of Doctor Strange occurred before the events of Civil War and Tony still has the reactor. fight me*See notes at the start of each chapter for any possible trigger warnings*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll put any possible warnings at the start of each chapter - please let me know if I missed anything.  
This chapter deals with some minor panic attacks and Arc reactor issues.

Stephen felt himself jolt awake with the sudden feeling that something was terribly wrong. Shortly after he took over the head of the New York Sanctum he knew that he had to step up and keep the earth safe from potential threats, like Dormammu. Stephen included The Avengers on the list, although they were commonly seen as ‘Earth's Mightiest Heroes’ anybody with superhuman powers could potentially be a threat. 

In order to keep tabs on the team without completely invading their privacy Stephen and Wong set up wards that would alert the sorcerer if any member of the team was in a life-threatening situation, or they had gone rogue. Unfortunately for Strange, his warning showed that both had occurred at the same time and he had to make a decision, fast. 

Steve Rodgers had reunited with his ex-hydra super soldier best friend James Barnes and the pair were currently on the run, fleeing some old Hydra base in Siberia. After locating the rogues Stephen turned back to his wards to find where the injured Avenger was and he would make a decision on who to go after. 

When Stephen finally pieced together that Tony Stark was unconscious in a Siberian snowstorm with Captain America's Shield slammed into his chest any thought of going after Rodgers and Barnes was out of his mind. Swiftly he summed a portal and called for the Cloak, instantly making his way to Tony. 

-

When Stephen got to Siberia he first noticed the cold wind that chilled him, even though the Cloak of Levitation- which instantly pulled him in the direction of the fallen avenger. Stephen followed the cloak and was shocked to find one of the ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ in such a state. 

Not only was Tony’s suit split open, falling to pieces around him, but the parts of his body that were exposed seemed to be covered with a layer of blood, sweat, and newly forming bruises. Stephen had never been more grateful for his trauma rotation back in residency. 

After doing a quick assessment to try and determine if Stark had a spinal injury Stephen directed the cloak to lift Tony as he opened a portal back to the Sanctum, where he had more medical supplies. He could do a full work-up there. 

-

Tony woke up confused, which isn't unusual for the guy who started binge drinking before he was finished with high school. However, since giving up drinking Tony hardly ever found himself in this situation. 

Upon a quick inspection, he noticed he was in a bed that he had never slept in, in a room he had never seen before, but it wasn’t a hospital- so that was probably a good thing. He also noticed his suit, beat to hell, sitting in the corner of the room. 

Then the pain hit. All at once, as if all of the adrenaline suddenly evaporated from his bloodstream. The throbbing headache and the way all his muscles felt like they were on fire would have been bad enough - but then he took a breath. 

As Tony first inhaled he could hear, and feel his ribs crackle and pop. The reactor whirled in protest and releasing a slight shock into the engineer's chest cavity. 

After that Tony resorted to gasping breaths, as he ripped his shirt open to assess any damage done to the delicate device they kept him alive. If he hadn’t been so concentrated on figuring out the true source of his pain Tony would have noticed that he was no longer alone in his room. 

Stephen came running as soon as he heard Tony’s first gasping breath. He busted in the door and quickly made his way to the bed, which only served to frighted Tony more. 

Stark reacted without thought, backing away and frantically coving his chest with both his hands and the nearest pillow he could grab. 

Stephen backed away, hands up above his head trying to show Stark that he was not a threat, but a friend. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you - I’ll stand back here but I need you to try and calm down. Or you’ll just do more damage. My name is Stephen Strange, I brought you here... Just let me know how I can help.” 

Tony tried to shudder in a few slow breaths, but between the damage to his ribs and the way the reactor kept acting up it was proving to be a difficult task. After a few more meaningless attempts Tony realized that he wasn’t going to be able to do anything about the pain in his chest until he could get back to his workshop. 

“I need-” Tony coughed as he tried to choke out the sentence. 

“What do you need, Tony. How can I help?” Stephen was generally a calm guy, and after his years as a neurosurgeon he should be able to handle this, but Tony was different. Not only was he dealing with technology he had never seen before, but Tony was scared and in a vulnerable place and Stephen did not want to overstep. 

“need, my shop- my workshop.” Tony’s breath hitched again. “‘Ts at the compound” he managed to stutter out before erupting into another fit of coughs and moans. 

_

Stephen was able to get the pair to the Avengers Compound upstate with little difficulty. Tony was pretty caught up in the pain in his chest and barely put up a fight at the sight of the portal that would typically send him into a ‘worm-hole to space’ induced panic attack. 

“Fri, scan” Tony wheezed out as his bots wheeled over to help him onto the table he had built for issues just like this. Stephen stood back, feeling way out of his depth. Not only had it been years since he operated he had never seen any medical tech like the Arc Reactor and he had no idea how he could help. 

“Boss, it seems that the Arc Reactor has been severely damaged and knocked out of place due to the blunt force trauma of the shield along with your broken ribs.” Friday’s soft robotic voice filled the space. 

“Does it need- ” Tony tried to steady his breath and his words “Does it need...to be replaced.” He managed to get his question out before the coughing started back up. 

“Yes, Boss - with this amount of damage I predict less than 24 hours before the reactor shuts down and you go into cardiac arrest.” After hearing that Stephen sprung into action. 

“Tony, what do you need?” Stephen kept his distance more this time - trying not to give Tony anything else to panic about.

“I have a spare - a few actually.” Tony paused to catch his breath, “over in the drawer…” Tony tried to sit up and gesture towards the cabinet on the other side of the shop, but he found it more difficult than expected. “Damn, Friday,” he ordered, hoping that she would know to open the drawer where he kept the back-up reactors - Jarvis would have already done it - but Tony couldn’t spare the energy to think about Jarvis right now. 

Lucky she did exactly that and the locked drawer flew open revealing about a dozen Arch Reactors ready to go. Stephen tried not to think about why this man might possibly need so many back-ups as he quickly made his way back to Tony’s bedside with the device in hand. 

Tony started to take out the old, damaged reactor once he saw Stephen put the new one down on the work table next to him. Tony wished that pepper were her, to help him as she had all those years ago. 

The old reactor came out with little discomfort, but Tony knew that placing the new one by himself with his broken ribs would be nearly impossible. Tony weighed the options over in his head for a moment before deciding that he would rather suffer through putting in the reactor by himself than trust some stranger with the most important tech he owns. 

Stephen watched in sympathy as Tony suffered through the pain of attaching the new Arc Reactor. Every time the mechanic would wince, or grunt in pain Stephen would offer to help but his request was always turned down. 

After approximately 15 painstaking minutes of adjusting and readjusting the reactor, Tony finally had it in place, and let out a heavy sigh. Sure there was still the pain in his ribs - but he could take a pain reliever for that, now that the Arc Reactor was functioning properly he was finally able to breathe again. 

“Feeling better?” Stephen questioned, after giving Tony a few minutes to collect his thoughts. 

“Much -Thank you. It was Strange, right?” Tony asked while hopping off the table and making his way over to the medicine cabinet trying to ignore the pain in his ribs and the headache that was very quickly approaching his frontal lobe. 

“Yeah, but Stephen is fine.” 

“Sure - whatever you say Strange.” Tony paused to dry swallow a few old pain killers. “Anyway. Thanks for the TLC, but I think I can manage from here.” he continued, trying to politely convince this guy to leave. 

“While I am sure you are capable of caring for yourself I do not feel comfortable leaving you on your own so soon after such intense trauma.” Stephen insisted. 

“I’ve survived on my own after much worse. Friday will show you out.” Tony replied, dropping the pleasantries. 

His headache was only getting worse, but now it felt like a very specific kind of headache. The kind he felt only before a hard drop and the last thing Tony Stark needed was some stranger watching him drop like a newly classified teenager. Stark men are made of Iron, being a weak little sub does not suit the Stark title. Plus he was pretty sure this guy was a Dom and the last thing he needed was another Dom stepping into Tony's already fucked up headspace. 

“I’m sorry, but you misunderstood. I am not leaving you on your own. So you can either call someone to come stay with you, or I will be here. Non-negotiable.” After that statement, all of Tony’s fears that Stephen was a dom were confirmed. Mainly because he felt the tight grip he had on his headspace slipping out of his control. 

“Please…” Tony started before he lost his train of thoughts, biology was taking over and it would only take a word before Strange had him on his knees. Tony’s hand began to shake, and a few tears built up behind his eyes. It was taking every bit of his energy to fight this. Tony has his eyes glued to the floor, knowing that even the right look from a Dom would send him falling into his headspace in the worst possible way. 

“Tony, what's wrong,” Stephen asked, still not piecing together what was happening. Tony whimpered. “Tony, look at me.” 

That was all it took, one simple command and any grip Tony still had on his headspace was gone. Tony looked up at Stephen with glossy eyes, and the tremor that was previously just in his hands had spread throughout his body. With his body shaking he slowly sank to his knees in front of this man whom he had just met. 

As he saw Tony drop to his knees Stephen finally realized what was going on- Tony was a sub, all of the public records have him classified as a baseline but with money like Stark has it was probably pretty easy to have that covered up. Stephen was way over his head, he hadn't domed for anybody in years and now he was dealing with a scared sub who he had just met. This was not going to end well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen helps Tony works through the drop and starts to wonder why Tony could possibly be fighting so hard.

Tony remained on his knees, shaking like a leaf. He hated being in subspace, and he hated it even more now that he was with an unfamiliar dom. At least with Steve - and even with Obi - he knew what to expect, he knew what would get him punished, he knew all the rules (at least he did most of the time, Obi had a habit of making up rules and then punishing Tony for breaking a rule that he didn’t know existed.) 

Tony let out another small whimper as he remembered how many times he had disappointed his doms in the past, and how much that had ended up costing him. 

When Stephen heard Tony whimper again he knew he had to act sooner rather than later. 

“Friday, could you please try and contact someone who has helped Tony go down before. I do not want to cause him any more discomfort?” he questioned the AI, however, he quickly realized that may have been a mistake as Tony began to shake even harder at the request. 

“I’ll be good…” 

“Please, I’ll be a good boy.” 

“Please don’t call him” 

“ -he’ll be so mad.” 

If Stephen was paying less attention he probably would have missed the softly muted phrases the distressed sub was mumbling out. But Stephen was paying attention so he heard every single painstaking phrase Tony stuttered out. 

“Tony, no one is going to be mad. I just wanted to talk to someone that can help you. No one is mad at you Tony” As Stephen spoke he slowly squatted down so he was more at Tony’s level - if he was going to do this he would first have to coax Tony out of this workshop and back to someplace a little more comfortable. 

“He’s always mad, I’m always a bad sub…” 

“Tony, I don’t think you’re bad. I think you’re a very good sub.” Stephen paused to check Tony’s reaction - but the poor man just seemed confused. “Come on Tony, we’re going to get off of this floor and go sit somewhere comfortable upstairs,” Stephen spoke commands - knowing that the more options he gave Tony while he was in his headspace the more confused the sub would become - but he tried to keep his voice soft, and calm. 

Tony nodded slowly, and moved to stand up - he ignored the cracking and popping sound he's knees made as he stood, while Stephen noted that if he were to make Tony kneel again he would be sure to provide a cushion. 

Stephen offered Tony his hand and they walked together towards the elevator, Friday had the doors open when they got there and she took them up to Tony’s private floor. By the time they had reached the penthouse, Tony had begun shaking with nerves once again. 

“Tony, what's wrong?” 

“I-you said I was good, you said…” Tony looked nervously around his home as if Stephen had something hidden here that was going to hurt him. 

“You are good, Tony. You are such a good boy.” Stephen assured slowly rubbing circles into Tony’s arm. “I’m not going to hurt you, I won’t even touch you if you don’t want,” Stephen added, as he removed his hand from Tony’s arm. 

Once Tony noticed that Stephen was no longer touching him he let out a soft whimper and looked longing at the sorcerer - he did want to be touched, why didn’t anyone ever want to touch him unless he was being bad. 

“Please.” He looked up at Stephen with tears forming in his eyes. 

“What do you need, Tony?” Stephen asked, not knowing what he could do to help comfort the sub who was suffering in front of him. 

Tony just responded with another whimper of distress as he looked back and forth between Stephen’s face and his hands that had just been so loving on his body. Tony didn’t know how to ask for what he needed, words were always hard when he was in his subspace - probably thanks to Obi who would always gag him when he would talk too much or ask too many questions. 

When Stephen saw the way that Tony’s eyes were darting between his hands and his eyes he finally had an idea of what Tony might need, and his heart broke as he realized that Tony was scared to ask for something as simple as a touch. 

“Tony, do you want me to touch you again?” Stephen asked in a soft and kind voice that Tony was so unused to. 

Tony’s slight, shy nod in response was all the reaction Stephen needed to resume contact with Tony as he led them over to the soft couch in the living room they were standing in.   
“Tony, I’m going to help you go a little bit deeper. Do you have a safeword?” Stephen knew that Tony was still hovering in that weird in-between space where he couldn’t quite let go. 

Tony nodded but didn’t speak up - he and Steve came up with a safe word when they first started, not that Steve ever really listened. 

“I’m gonna need you to let me know what your safeword is, okay,” Stephen spoke gently as he slowly ran his finger through Tony’s hair. 

“Malibu.” Tony let out at a volume just below a whisper. 

“Thank you, that was so good Tony. You are doing so good.” Stephen had noticed the way that Tony lit up just a little every time Stephen said he was good and decided the genius needed to hear it more. 

“Now, I am going to put this pillow on the floor and you are going to kneel on it facing me. Can you do that?” as Tony nodded in response Stephen moved to place the large couch pillow on the floor in front of him. 

“I want you to relax Tony, you can close your eyes if you want - but you don’t need to - I’m going to try and help you down a little more and if I do something you don’t like you can say yellow or use your safeword. Understand?” 

“..yessir” tony mumbled out, his words were stringing together alerting Stephen that he was already being to drop a little more. 

“That’s very good Tony.” Stephen began by brushing some of Tony’s unruly curls out of his face with his fingers. Then he began lightly massaging Tony’s scalp and eventually sliding his hands down to the sub’s kneck and shoulders trying to relieve some of the tension the mechanic has built up.

Tony was so caught up with trying to savior the way that Stephens's hands made him feel that he didn’t notice how deep he had fallen in such little time. Tony found himself in the place where the outside world went fuzzy and all he could do was be in the moment with his dom. It had been a long time since Tony was in this good place without feeling like he had done something wrong, without the anticipation of a punishment that was sure to come. 

When Stephen saw that Tony’s eyes had glossed over - indicating that he had finally dropped to the place he needed to be He decided it was time to get Tony something to eat. 

“Tony, can you stand up for me. We are going to go to the kitchen and find something to eat.” Before Stephen had even finished talking Tony was already standing - willing to do whatever Stephen wanted if it meant he would get more kind touches instead of pain and yelling. 

“Good boy,” Stephen said, running his hand through Tony’s hair in a sort of petting motion after he stood up himself. 

Stephen guided Tony hand-in-hand towards the kitchen where he sat the sub down at one of the island stools and then started scouring the cupboards looking for something he could easily feed Tony in this state. 

After a few minutes, Stephen decided on a cheese and cracker plate with some veggies he found in the fridge. He knew that subs often didn’t like to eat when they were this deep, but he also knew - thanks to Friday - that Tony had not eaten in close to 36 hours. 

Stephen made quick work of chopping the cheese and veggies and then plated them alongside a few crackers that he found in the pantry. 

“Alright Tony, it’s time to eat something.” Stephen prompted placing the dish in front of Tony, who just looked at him with those confused eyes that kept breaking Stephen's heart. 

“I just need you to eat a little bit, please Tony.” Luckily for Stephen that was all Tony needed to hear. Tony just wanted to make Stephen happy, he wanted to prove that he could be a good sub -even if Tony didn’t even believe it himself - he was sure as hell going to try his best. And if all Stephen wanted was for Tony to eat a few bites of cheese, he would do exactly that.

Tony slowly reached down and grabbed a cube of swiss that he then carefully placed into his mouth. The cheese was slightly nutter than Tony expected but he continued to eat three more bites before deciding he had enough of the cheese. 

When he finished swallowing the swiss Tony reached for a thinly sliced cucumber - they were his favorite, and he was so busy that he rarely took the time to cut one up and eat it but when he was younger Jarvis would always give him cucumbers with his lunch. 

Tony was so lost in thinking about Jarvis that he had finished every cucumber on the plant without realizing it until Stephen spoke up. 

“That was so good, Tony. You’re doing such a good job” Stepehnhad been keeping his hands on Tony throughout the whole snacking process, moving from his scalp down to the mid of his back and then back up again. 

“No one ever calls me good…” Tony mumbled off getting lost in Stephen's touch once again. 

“Well, they were all wrong because you are very good Tony. How about you eat a few of those crackers for me, and then we can go back to the couch.”

When Tony didn’t reply Stephen assumed (correctly) that he had sunk back pretty deep and decided to feed the genius the last few bites by hand. Stephen moved slowly to make sure Tony didn’t choke and gave him a sip of water after every cracker - and in under five minutes, the plate was cleared. 

“Good boy, Tony you ate it all up. Now we can go back to the living room and you can rest a little while and then it will be time to come back up.” Stephen instructed as he guided Tony out of the stool and back onto the couch. 

Tony didn’t want to come back up - he couldn’t even remember the last time he felt this good in subspace - but he didn’t want to upset Stephen so he agreed. 

Stephen sat down beside Tony and motioned for the smaller man to put his head down in his lap, which Tony did without any hesitation. 

“I am just going to stay here, I’ll rub your hair and you can just relax until you’re ready to come back up - okay,” Tony mumbled some sort of affirmative reply that Stephen couldn’t quite understand as he tried to hold onto every last second of this blissful headspace. 

As Tony felt himself slowly drifting up he also heard Stephens clear voice whispering some of the kindest words he had ever had the privilege of being told. The Sorcerer was telling Tony how good he had been, how he had never met a Sub like him before, and how the whole experience was perfect - how Tony was perfect. 

Tony hadn't been told he was perfect since before Jarvis died - the human Jarvis, not the AI Jarvis - and he had never felt this warm feeling he had as he blinked his eyes and returned to the real world. The world where he would have to put up his masks once again, where he would have to stop being the “good boy” that Stephen said he was and go back to being Tony Stark - genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. 

“Welcome back,” Stephen said as he saw Tony's eyes go back to normal and the Sub gains a horrifying look of realization. Tony sat up, took a deep breath, and prepared himself for what would probably be one of the top five most uncomfortable conversations of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this, feedback would be greatly appreciated. I should have the next chapter up within the week.

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know if you enjoyed this, the next chapter should be out soon it's almost done and hopefully, after that I will come up with a more regular posting schedule.


End file.
